WINNER OF AUGUST CAT CLUB GIVEAWAY!

Well thank you to all of you who have already visited www.nelpatterns.com/ and joined /The Cat Club. Every month there is a free giveaway to a lucky member. 
This is our first prize winner and it is ....drum roll...

Barbara Paul from Devon! CONGRATULATIONS! 
Your goodies will be on their way to you tomorrow.

She says 'she never wins anything' so I am really glad she has this time! If you want to join The Cat Club it's Free and you get the Happy Cat Pattern FREE when you become a member. You will then just be told what the giveaway is each month and what the next cat pattern is. It's as simple as that! Don't worry you won't be flooded with emails as I haven't got time to do that. I just want to share what I am up to and giveaway nice things!

September's Giveaway 
I will post tomorrow as I will be away over the weekend. It's going to be really lovely and include some Beautiful French products  I have designed. So watch out for that. Currently the Katharine's Wheel Quilt is the most downloaded item on nelpatterns , and Cottonpatch have all the fabric in stock and have a great kit of it.

 Well it's definitely crawling into Autumn isn't it, the socks are back on and the leggings are out.


I have also finished my new collection which had to be delivered for the 1st of September. So I rushed like a nutter to get it finished, only to come home this afternoon to find that Fedex had failed to pick it up...sigh! It's been rather a juggling act as usual trying to sort what needs sorting in every day life as well as working and preparing for our son leaving home to go to University. It's a whole mixture of emotions isn't it. Glad they got in, going to miss them so much it hurts, less washing and picking things up off the floor, fewer people to carry large heavy pictures to the car! Hey ho life and it's ever rolling wheel! 

Talking of which those of you who don't follow me on facebook may not know, and quite frankly may also not be interested but I have painted my 30 year old bike and stuck it on our garden wall, as I have such fond memories of it, the places I went, the miles I road , that I just couldn't take it to the tip, when eventually the bike shop couldn't fix it any more. So it is now immortalised like ET'S bike upon our wall, where I intend to grow things from the basket on the back. Even when it rained today I took my cup of tea to have another look at it. Thanks to Mike and Dawn Sim by the way for helping fix it to the wall so beautifully!

Well I must go as I have too much to do before bedtime. As promised the Platted Knitting Basket that I showed at the Festival of Quilts will be up available soon . So many people tried to pick it apart to work out how I'd made it but it survived. As usual it will be back to more painting after next week as I always seem to paint most between Sept and April when the kids go back to school. 

NELPATTERNS.COM IS NOW LIVE AND FREE GIVE AWAYS EVERY MONTH!

Very excited to say that MY NEW dedicated pattern and fabric site is now up and running at www.nelpatterns.com! I'm so excited about the quilt as it turned out exactly how I wanted it too.

There's a pattern on the site. Thanks to all of you who have already ordered the fabric or downloaded patterns.
I'll be leaving for the Festival of Quilts in Birmingham tomorrow, where I will be on the Cottonpatch stand until Sunday so come and say hi. I'm looking forward to the designers supper and meeting Tula Pink and seeing Katharine's Wheel on the stand

There are great downloadable patterns  and the lovely Katharine's Wheel Quilt which at the Festival of Quilts as we speak!

JOIN THE CAT CLUB!

Every month there will be a FREE GIVEAWAY when you join the Cat Club it's free to join and you get news of all the collectable Cat Patterns as soon as they come out as well as the chance to win the monthly giveaway. This month it is everything in this picture...

I've been watching the Olympics ( who hasn't and making things for the launch of Katharine's Wheel as well as finishing off all the patterns so it will be nice to see it all finished at the show. Here are some of the things you can see at www.nelpatterns.com

This is the Purple Paddy Shopper

I've Been a Busy Bee! lots of pics of Exhibition, Chelsea and my NEW fabric range Katharine's Wheel has now arrived HURRAY!

Well there has been so much going on from my big 25th Show to Chelsea Flower Show and now Ripley Grand Sale just north of Harrogate starting tomorrow. I have hardly drawn breath! But I did take a week off and took great delight in painting my shed purple and plan to spray paint my very old bike and attach it to the shed as I just couldn't part with it having had so many happy memories cycling all over the place. I bought it when I was 18 and just couldn't take it to the tip. So not it is to be imortalised and stuck to the shed! Will post a picture. As I should now be in bed as I have to be up early. I am just going to post a few pics and then do more at the weekend.

 I am so excited that Katharine's Wheel has arrived and we have had such a gorgeous quilt made. A big thank you to Sally Ablett for making it, it's turned out just how I designed and it's my favourite quilt yet. I will doing a Katharine's Wheel Fat Qtr giveaway on the Sewing Directory so more about that soon! For now must get some sleep. Let me know if you would be interested in making something with Katharine's Wheel bye for now xx

Then there was Chelsea ..and it was SO HOT!!

25Th Year Celebration Art Exhibition Of Paintings By Nel Whatmore at The Priory, Syningthwaite, Home Farm,Wighill, North Yorkshire, - www.digyorkshire.com

25Th Year Celebration Art Exhibition Of Paintings By Nel Whatmore at The Priory, Syningthwaite, Home Farm,Wighill, North Yorkshire, - www.digyorkshire.com

Nel 25th Year Celebration Exhibition 'Life is a Minestrone"

Well January has been very very busy, as things build up towards my big show in April. I have been painting like a woman possessed! Feeling no pressure at all, as it's my 25th year! There will also been an exhibition of work from when I was a child up to present day. Cue terrible hairdoos and pictures of giraffe's, gorilla's and all sorts. It's always interesting to look back as well as forward. I often find it invaluable to see the progression of work and also as a reminder that there has been improvement when normally when you are only looking at current work it seems as though you are not going forward at all. If any of you would like to be sent an invitation for the show please email me your address and I will make sure you receive an invite. They will be going out the first week in March.

In the midst of all this painting, the 2nd strike offs of Katharine's Wheel, my next range of fabrics for Freespririt, have arrived. So there is a lot to do. I can't resist taking a picture for you to see them! There are just a few tweaks that need doing but then can't wait to start making bags and quilts and things.

 Our kids are in the middle of exams, both of them, so it's hard at times to concentrate as there is always someone needing something. Such are the joys of juggling family. Anyway I just wanted to say hi and post something in January, which we are nearly at the end of . I am going to do another give away shortly so let me know who would be interested in winning some Sleeping Beauty Fabric. Here are some reminders of the range.

Nel Christmas Prize worth over £100 featured in NEW issue of World of Cross Stitch Magazine

Hi Everyone,

Hi just to let you all know that the next issue of World Of Cross Stitch, on sale on Dec 8th I believe has a feature on me, which I am really pleased about. Also it gives me the opportunity to do another lovely FREE GIVEAWAY. This is open to all readers of the magazine who follow my blog and all of those who already do. Thanks so much for dropping by !

The PRIZE is Three Maia Cross Stitch Kits worth over a £100!! Plus a Nel Calendar and diary.

All you have to do is join my blog and post a comment below. I love hearing from you all.
The kits are of such a high standard and they have interpreted my paintings beautifully, that I hope you will enjoy doing them or sharing them.
Well it's getting colder and colder and yes the first snowflakes fell on the car this week and it's getting really cold at my studio. I am painting  avidly at the moment towards my big 25th exhibition next year and have just been to see the venue again to measure up and try to work out actually how many paintings I will be able to fit in. Coupled with racing all over the country taking our son to University open days, there has been little time to anything Christmassy. December is always sooooo busy for everyone.
   I will select the WINNER ON MY BIRTHDAY 30TH DECEMBER as that seems like a nice thing to do on that day!
 BEST OF LUCK EVERYONE!!

Winner of the 100 Block Magazine Blog Tour is.......! And a note to you all from Nel

Home Quilt! Congratulations. I will be getting all your goodies off to you next week. There were so many of you who very kindly commented it was a bit overwhelming THANK YOU SO MUCH! As I have to make three Christmas cakes today, as the fruit has been soaking a bit to long. I will try to reply to some of you, who had queries but alas can't promise to manage everyone. So please know how much I appreciate it you dropping by and I look forward to keeping in touch.

The exhibition up at Ripley of my originals is going well. Thanks to all of you who have visited so far. I love spending my Saturdays up there much easier than doing the jobathon at home. I will post some pics shortly , after doing the Christmas cakes as they need to cook for 5 hours!!!!!!

I am so excited today the first strikeoffs of Katharine's Wheel , my third range, arrived and I AM SO PLEASED WITH THEM. I so want to put them on my blog but as a few of the patterns need just a few tweaks I am going to try to be patient....it's very hard though as I can already see bags and quilts and all sorts of things that I want to make.
Anyway here are a few pics as couldn't leave without putting some up. They are of our annual visit to Thorpe Perrow Aboretum. Which is just such a beautiful place.